Show ContentsBlackelog History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Blackelog

What does the name Blackelog mean?

A Strathclyde-Briton family from the Scottish/English Borderlands was the first to use the surname Blackelog. It is a name for a person with dark hair. As such, the Blackelog surname most likely evolved from a nickname from the Middle English "blakelok," in turn from the Old English blec, meaning "black," or "dark," and locc, meaning a "lock of hair." 1

Alternatively, the name could have been derived from Black Loch, location names in Lanark, Renfrew and Stirling. 2

Early Origins of the Blackelog family

The surname Blackelog was first found in Wiltshire where Peter Blacloke was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. 3

Dusting off more old references, we found Adam Blakelok in the Subsidy Rolls for Cumberland in 1332 and Robert Blaykelok in Yorkshire in 1431. 4

About fifty years later in Scotland, "William Blakloche, chaplain in the monastery of Dunfermlyne, appears as charter witness in 1483. " 5 The same source notes two of the same name but with very different stories: "Adam Blaiklok of the West Port of Edinburgh was hanged for perjury in 1615, and another Adam Blaiklok was constable of the parish of Kirkpatrick-Tuxta, 1617." 5

Early History of the Blackelog family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Blackelog research. Another 176 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1275, 1332, 1400, 1597, 1598, 1637, 1638, 1684, 1721, 1791 and 1801 are included under the topic Early Blackelog History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Blackelog Spelling Variations

Before the printing press standardized spelling in the last few hundred years, no general rules existed in the English language. Spelling variations in Scottish names from the Middle Ages are common even within a single document. Blackelog has been spelled Blacklock, Blakelock, Blacklocke, Blakelocke, Blaikelock, Blaiklock and many more.

Early Notables of the Blackelog family

Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Blackelog Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Blackelog family

For Scottish immigrants, the great expense of travel to North America did not seem such a problem in those unstable times. Acres of land awaited them and many got the chance to fight for their freedom in the American War of Independence. These Scots and their ancestors went on to play important roles in the forging of the great nations of the United States and Canada. Among them: Thomas Blacklocke, who settled in Virginia in 1623; George Blacklock, who settled in Barbados in 1635; as well as Martha Blacklock, who settled in Maryland in 1722..



  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)


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